Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) is an Americanretailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and customized during their visit to the store, and is the largest chain that operates in this style.[1] The company has been acclaimed for the quality of its working environment, especially as a workplace for teenagers.[2]

In 2006, the company acquired The Bear Factory from Hamleys and began operating in its flagship store in London.

Build-A-Bear has also engaged in various charities, including the WWF Collecti-bear series which has given over $1 million (USD) to the World Wildlife Fund.[3] As part of its tenth birthday celebration, the company built 11 playgrounds throughout the USA and Canada in partnership with KaBOOM! and announced that it had donated over $11 million to various child and family causes since 1994. The store also hosts an event called “Stuffed For Hugs Weekend” in May, in which guests at Build-a-Bear are given the opportunity to stuff a pre-selected animal for charity. There is a similar weekend that occurs in late October known as “The Spirit of Giving” in which guests can make stuffed ghosts. A Build-A-Bear Workshop video game was developed by The Game Factory and released for the Nintendo DS platform for Christmas 2007.

In 2010, in honor of the Sanrio company’s 50th anniversary, Build-A-Bear released limited edition Sanrio characters, including Hello Kitty, Chococat, My Melody, and Keroppi. This even included the release of mini keychains of the four characters along with Deery Lou.[5] In 2010, Build-A-Bear also started selling Zhu Zhu Pets, a line of electronic hamsters by Cepia LLC. Also in 2010 ‘Build-a-bear’ introduced some smaller bears in boxes and already stuffed bears called smallfrys. A variety of them were made. Going from normal bears and rabbits to blue tigers and purple giraffes. Just like the normal 30–40 cm bears they had clothes and accessories but not as big a variety as the larger bears.

Starting in 2011, Build-A-Bear added Victoria Justice as their new spokesperson. In the mid-year, she began appearing in all Build-A-Bear Workshop commercials. Build-A-Bear also released a feature film available on IPad through MoPix in December 2011.[6]

In late October 2007, Build-A-Bear Workshop opened their new online visual world, Build-A-Bearville, now Bearville developed in association with Frima Studio. It allows users to play games, explore an expanding world, and chat in a safe community. While codes are included with products bought at a Build-A-Bear Workshop and can be used to redeem in-game gifts, anyone, including non-owners of the brand’s toys, can create an account and play the majority of the Bearville game.

Friends 2B Made was an interactive store that allowed customers to make dolls and purchase related accessories launched by Build-A-Bear in 2005. The store was open briefly in nine locations before closing in 2009.[8]

“Build-A-Bear at the Zoo” can be found at the Saint Louis Zoological Park. This store features several types of zoo animals,[9] many of which are endangered and some which are part of the WWF Collectibear series. For each collectibear purchased one dollar is donated to the WWF.

In 1999, Eric and Merrilee Woods, the owners of Basic Brown Bear Factory of San Francisco, sued Build-A-Bear for misappropriating trade secrets, copyright infringement, unfair competition, and breach of confidence. It was settled out of court.

According to legal filings, Maxine Clark approached Basic Brown Bear Factory in 1996 to negotiate a buyout offer. Eric and Merrilee Woods were interested in selling the business to Clark to expand it nationally, with the agreement that the Woodses would remain as officers. The Woodses assert that Clark was exposed to the inner workings of the business and signed a confidentiality agreement. She then made an offer that the Woodses rejected, resulting in Clark quickly departing to organize Build-A-Bear Workshop with their trade secrets.

Maxine Clark has stated “We have never claimed that we were the first to have make-your-own stuffed animal businesses in the United States”.[10] Regardless, Maxine Clark appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in February 2004, claiming to have invented the Build-A-Bear Workshop with the help of a ten year-old- girl named Katie who thought thatBeanie Babies were so hard to find but “were so easy that they could make them.”

Though Build-A-Bear Workshop has since applied for or acquired many patents, copyrights, and trademarks related to the business of “create-your-own-animal”, controversy, contention, and litigation over the intellectual property abound.